St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1887-06-18

SosAN01ON. LOUISIANA
csa'NA's LOCATION.
- ke1rsss.sesavss - - oAa,,,
eFe u WasAaagssn Eaje1 -.
ION can pass from the parior, ipto
me library BY going through I n.rrov
.l''e nali. l have been in many libra
mes in my life. but can ssy that never
nave ! entered one exactly like this.
Inc room might almost be de,cr;hed :.
an octagon. it has SO MANY little nooks
and crannies. There are odd-Iool;rv
bookcases filled with rare and valuable
manuscripts and number Of cabinets
:. oeaut'ful workmanship in which are
f,cniy bound editions Of the Chinese
Classics. This room is the Minister'S
private ONCE and strangers rarely have
. cnance to enter il Passing still
i"ftner toward the back Of the man sion.
We come to the ballroom. perhaps the
largest and most elegant in the city.
ana the scene OF some Of the most bril-.
nsnt entertainments ever given in
washington. Though the Minister il
not frequent entertainer himself, he
rs always ready to put his house At the
disposal Of the society ladies of Wash.
inSton. Every season, however. he
gives grand ball. for which over !
thousand invitations are issued. The
last occasion Of this kind is still fresh
IN the public mind. on account OF the
behavior OF the guests. There is still
another apartment we'll worth linger-
ing in This is the smoking-room
that heaven of the Celestial Of
every degree. Il is luxuriously fur.
nlshed with divans and mats and
sofas and rugs OF every conceivable
design and color. There is not much
regard for taste; comfort seems to he
the object sought after and certainly
gained. In large and curious cabinet
you will be shown . strange and varied
collection OF pipes. It il little museum
In itself in the matter OF smokers goods.
thought saw . substance that looked
like opium. but I wont be certain Of it.
The smoking-room is the general
lounging place Of the house. Here you
can find . majority Of the fifteen men
who make up the legation At all hours
OF the day. smoking. doing. drinking
delicious tea every half hour. and lead
ing. on the whole. delightfully."- lazy
life. In the evening they generally 60
to the theater. Of which they are pas
sionately fond. You can see them al
most any night in . box. dressed in
their cool. loose-fitting costumes and
looking the picture Of happiness and
contentment Perhaps no one but the
interpreter and translator can under.
stand what is going on. but they do
not allow this small matter to interfere
with their enjoyment Of the play. They
applaud vociferously. but not always
in timely manner. I remember one
evening. some time ago. sitting near
them at the theater. During one Of
the parts an actress on the stage lit .
cigarette. She was evidently not an
expert. the smoke went the wrong way
and she choked. The occupants Of the
Chinese box went of like pack Of fire.
crackers. the epidemic spread, and
soon the whole audience was in y roar
IT laughter. The two hundred pound
Secretary Of the Legation laughed so
hard at one time that I thought he was
going to have fit
The present members Of the Chinese
Legation are . very handsome. intelli-
gent body Of men. Including the scrv-
ants. there are about thirty Of them.
and they seem to enjoy life like 50
many children. The incidents Of their
life in this country seem to have q per-
feet fascination for them. They 20 TO
the circus, 10 balls, receptions and din
ners. and follow. in fact. every form Of
life with the most supreme delight
During the social season they are faith
full devotecs Of society, and promptly
return every call and rapturously &C
cept every invitation sent them. Taken
all in all. the sum and substance of
Chinese diplomacy in this country APP
pears to lie in tho direction of having
good time.
Chang Yen Hoon. the Minister. how
ever. is credited with being man Of
unusual ability. He is . soldier by pro-
fcssion. and for repeated gsllantry in
subduing = number of rebellions in the
provinces he was promoted first to tho
rank of Tas-tai Expctant and then
made Envoy Extraordinary to the
United States. Spain and Peru, which
positions he now holds. He is much
more digniiied and reserved than his
associates, and il rarely seen in public.
He docs not speak word OF English.
however. and whenever he goes out is
accompanied by his translator and in
terpreter, besides rctinue Of servants
in giittering livery. Warrington Cor.
Chicago Herald
Borreo's Flying Tree-Frog.
One Of the most curious and interest
Ing reptiles which I met with in Borneo
vas /. large tree-frog, which was brought
me BY one Of the Chinese workmen. He
assured me that he had seen it come
down. in . slanting direction. from .
high tree, rs IL it few. On examining
il. found the toes very long and fully ,
webbed to their very extremity. 50 that
when expanded they offered surface /,
much larger than the body. The foro
,eys were also bordered BY membrane.
and the body was capable OF consider